Author Archive

None of us knows what lies ahead. Of this we can be sure, however, we will be tested.

Some ‘tests’ are quick ‘pop quizzes’—unexpected, easily passed, designed to let us know if we are learning life’s lessons or not. Failure is readily remedied.

Others are like college exams that determine whether or not we qualify for our degree. These tests have serious consequence—they either make us or break us.

The two men in our story were severely tested.

But before we cast judgement to condemn the one for his failure and exonerate the other for his valor, let us imagine ourselves (as best we can) in their shoes and ask, Would I pass their test?

The first, after losing several jobs (through no fault of his own), found a job stocking shelves at a Home Depot. A loving husband and a good father, he worked hard to provide for his wife and three children. Every Sunday he took his family to church. Through the struggle and sacrifice, he pressed on hoping for his big break.

Then one day his number was called. He held the winning lottery ticket. Thirty-one million dollars! Distributed in cheques of $1.24 million annually over twenty-five years! Some who knew him said it was just reward for his years diligence and hardship.

With his first cheque the young man bought a ranch and horses—a boyhood dream. He established a college fund for his children’s future. He bought homes for various family members and donated money to his church. He was financially set to live the life of his dreams.

The second man, born into a wealthy New York family, had life served to him on a silver platter. While attending the best Ivy League schools, he enjoyed the high life. He toured Europe as a skilled equestrian. As an aspiring actor, this young man searched for his big break in the movies.

Then one day his number was called. He landed a leading role in what would eventually become a Hollywood blockbuster movie.

Overnight the young man became a big-name celebrity earning millions of dollars. He spent his fortune on spacious houses, fancy cars, extravagant parties and his passion for riding. He, too, had stepped into the life of his dreams.

Then the unbelievable and bizarre occurred.

In May of 1999, just two years after winning the lottery, Billie Harrell of Houston, Texas, locked himself in his bedroom, leaned his chest to the barrel of his shotgun and shot himself.

A close friend reported Harrell as saying, “winning the lottery was the worst thing that ever happened to me.”

In 1995, Christopher Reeves (the original Superman) fell from his horse during an equestrian competition. His horse balked at a simple jump sending his rider head first over the barrier.

As all riders, Reeves was well-trained how to fall to minimize injury. But with his hands tangled in the reins, he was unable to use his arms to break his fall. Reeves’ 6 foot 4 inch 210 pound body landed on his head with such impact that the top two vertebrae shattered, severing his head from the spinal cord. Doctors declared it a miracle that Reeves survived the hangman’s fracture.

Alone in the hospital, in intensive care, unable to breathe without a respirator and completely immobile, the crushing weight of his injury was unbearable.

Like Billie Harrell, Christopher Reeves stared suicide in the face.

Reeves wrote, “It dawned on me that I was going to be a huge burden to everybody, that I had ruined my life and everybody else’s. My role as a husband and the father of three children would be severely compromised, because paralysis had suddenly transformed me into a forty-two-year-old infant. I thought it would be selfish and unfair to remain alive.”

Turning to his wife Dana, he mouthed his morbid thoughts and feelings, “Maybe we should let me go.”

His wife’s knelt by his bedside, gazed into her husband’s soul and said, “You’re still you, and I love you.”

Her words spoke life and light into Reeve’s despair. The power of death was broken.

Sobering stories from which I take these five lessons.

1. Money—whether the abundance or the lack of it—does not determine quality of life nor does it guarantee happiness.

Either we learn to master it, or it will master us—no matter how much we have or don’t have.

“I have learned to be content, regardless of my circumstances, whether in plenty or in want, whether in abundance or in need.” (The Apostle Paul writing to the Philippian believers.)

“In 2002, seven years after the accident and in the year of my fiftieth birthday, I look back with almost indescribable gratitude at the moment when Dana knelt by my bedside and said, “You’re still you, and I love you.””

3. Life—regardless of circumstances—is worth living.

“Dana’s intuition about what my state of mind would be two years after the accident proved to be absolutely right: I was glad to be alive, not out of obligation to others, but because life was worth living.”

4. Relationships matter most—they are the safety net that pulls us through when the bottom drops out.

“When a catastrophe happens it’s easy to feel so sorry for yourself that you can’t even see anybody around you. But the way out is through your relationships. The way out of that misery or obsession is to focus more on what your little boy needs or what your teenagers need or what other people around you need. It’s very hard to do, and often you have to force yourself.”

5. Negativity destroys, steals and kills—guard against and avoid it at all costs.

“Not letting negativity get the upper hand is really, really critical. Not only to your mental outlook, but literally to your physical health, because if negativity’s allowed to fester, it causes health problems.”

“I have moments of anger. But am I in despair about it? No, I’m not. Despair is a very bleak word.” When he feels frustrated, he says, he turns his attention to his family, or to the numerous projects he’s immersed in. (The Guardian)

Life will test us. The stories of Billie Harrell and Christopher Reeves hint of some of the topics on the exam. I am determined to prepare.

Just to survive

We get up, often dragging ourselves out of bed at the sheer thought of another day of our demanding (unfulfilling) job—it pays the bills, but little more.

We come home after a grueling day to a demanding family—can they not understand what I go through every day, just to put food on the table?

We drop into bed for a fitful night—too exhausted and stressed to get the much-needed rejuvenation sleep is supposed to give.

The question haunts us, “Is this all there is to life?”

No simple, easy answer

The answer is not easy nor simple because life is complex.

I like Brendon Burchard’s answer. “At the end of our lives we will all ask, Did I live? Did I love? Did I matter?”

Brendon has made it his life mission to live a “fully charged life” and to help others “feel more alive, engaged, and fulfilled.”

Great. But how?

Here’s a riveting story I found that can help us get started on our quest to discover what we really want from life.

Of Stones, Pebbles and Sand

One day, an old professor of the School of Public Management in France, was invited to lecture on the topic of “Efficient Time Management” in front of a group of 15 executive managers representing the largest, most successful companies in America. The lecture was one in a series of 5 lectures conducted in one day, and the old professor was given 1 hr to lecture.

Standing in front of this group of elite managers, who were willing to write down every word that would come out of the famous professor’s mouth, the professor slowly met eyes with each manager, one by one, and finally said, “We are going to conduct an experiment”.

Stones

From under the table that stood between the professor and the listeners, the professor pulled out a big glass jar and gently placed it in front of him. Next, he pulled out from under the table a bag of stones, each the size of a tennis ball, and placed the stones one by one in the jar. He did so until there was no room to add another stone in the jar.

Lifting his gaze to the managers, the professor asked, “Is the jar full?”

The managers replied, “Yes”.

The professor paused for a moment, and replied, “Really?”

Pebbles

Once again, he reached under the table and pulled out a bag full of pebbles. Carefully, the professor poured the pebbles in and slightly rattled the jar, allowing the pebbles to slip through the larger stones, until they settled at the bottom.

Again, the professor lifted his gaze to his audience and asked, “Is the jar full?”

At this point, the managers began to understand his intentions. One replied, “Apparently not!”

Sand

“Correct”, replied the old professor, now pulling out a bag of sand from under the table. Cautiously, the professor poured the sand into the jar. The sand filled up the spaces between the stones and the pebbles.

Yet again, the professor asked, “Is the jar full?”

Without hesitation, the entire group of students replied in unison, “NO!”

“Correct”, replied the professor. And as was expected by the students, the professor reached for the pitcher of water that was on the table, and poured water in the jar until it was absolutely full. The professor now lifted his gaze once again and asked, “What great truth can we surmise from this experiment?”

With his thoughts on the lecture topic, one manager quickly replied, “We learn that as full as our schedules may appear, if we only increase our effort, it is always possible to add more meetings and tasks.”

The Lesson

“No”, replied the professor. “The great truth that we can conclude from this experiment is:

If we don’t put all the larger stones in the jar first, we will never be able to fit all of them later.”

The auditorium fell silent, as every manager processed the significance of the professor’s words in their entirety.

The old professor continued, “What are the large stones in your life? Health? Family? Friends? Your goals? Doing what you love? Fighting for a Cause? Taking time for yourself?

What we must remember is that it is most important to include the larger stones in our lives, because if we don’t do so, we are likely to miss out on life altogether. If we give priority to the smaller things in life (pebbles & sand), our lives will be filled up with less important things, leaving little or no time for the things in our lives that are most important to us.

Because of this, never forget to ask yourself, What are the Large Stones in your Life? And once you identify them, be sure to put them first in your Jar of Life.”

With a warm wave of his hand, the professor bid farewell to the managers, and slowly walked out of the room.

Drinkers want a hot beverage, but not tea or chocolate. Brand, quality, and even taste doesn’t matter much, as long as it’s cheap (i.e. inexpensive) and tastes like coffee.

Lovers must have their coffee. Their day doesn’t begin until they’ve had their cup of brew. They savor the aroma, the taste, the pleasure, even the grinding of beans. Coffee lovers are happy to spend a little more on a preferred brand of quality. Coffee is an experience, not just a beverage.

Connoisseurs bring art and science to the coffee experience. Knowledgeable and experienced, connoisseurs can identify the quality of coffee and recognize the nuances of its taste. From grinding the beans to boiling the water—actually, the water should be heated between 92-96º C not boiled—to brewing method, connoisseurs are exacting. Coffee is the elixir of heaven—magical, divine.

Well, it seems like the search for the holy grail of coffee stills goes on.

Various efforts are made to find the added ingedient to create the exceptional coffee experience. From radical selection (Kopi Luwak and Black Ivory coffee) to blending beans from different regions, to unique preparation (Aeropress or Chemex), the choices are endless. After careful scrutiny, the Coffee Review found 508 coffees and espressos that earned an outstanding score.

Mushroom-Coffee: A Healthy Blend?

One interesting blend of mushrooms and coffee claims to have created a tasty and healthy coffee. The claim is arguable, but final judgement is really a matter of personal preference and acquired taste.

Organo™ Gold adds organic ganoderma lucidum, either finely ground or as spores, to its coffee. The result, it claims, is “a healthy alternative to regular coffee that not only tastes great, but makes people feel great.”

Medicinal uses of lingzhi are recorded in Chinese texts as far back as 2000 years. The various meanings of the Chinese name—divine, spiritual, miraculous, effective, plant of longevity—shows the respect for this “auspicious mushroom.”

Our western mindset views Chinese medicine with suspicion. Scientific studies are proving the wisdom of these oriental herbal masters, however. Each of the benefits of ganoderma listed below is confirmed by research.

7 Benefits of Ganoderma

a natural source of bio-chemicals (antioxidants and phytonutrients) which provide rejuvenating energy and health benefits without interfering with our body system

calms the nerves and is highly effective in dealing with “environmental stress”

lowers blood pressure and blood cholesterol

strengthens immune cells and improves the immune system without side-effects

as an anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, ganoderma significantly inhibits all four types of allergic reactions and is effective in treating asthma, bronchitis, stiff neck and shoulders

Organo™ Gold Coffee

By infusing “gourmet coffee” with organic ganoderma lucidum, Organo™ Gold has “scientifically developed a healthy alternative to regular coffee that not only tastes great, but makes people feel great.”

Some of my “coffee drinker” friends won’t even try a cup of Organo™ Gold coffee. They are not enticed by the supposed healthy benefits (even if scientific research backs the claims). Besides, a cup of coffee at Tim Hortons or a can of ground coffee from the grocery store is a lot cheaper.

My “coffee lovers” are intrigued by the benefits of ganoderma—most are in need of support to their health. But, “I don’t drink instant coffee.”

As I said before, whether you are a coffee drinker, a coffee lover or a coffee connoisseur, the coffee experience is really a matter of personal preference and aquired taste.

Personally, I’m somewhere between coffee lover and coffee connoisseur. Coffee is not just a convenient beverage, it is a pleasureable experience. I enjoy grinding the beans, smelling the aroma wafting through the cool morning air, savoring the robust taste of a perfect roast, and I can taste the difference in quality. (Some of the best coffee I’ve tasted is the home roasted beans from my farmer-friends in the hills of Jamaica.)

Research assures me that the cup of java I enjoy has benefit for my health. Now there is a coffee that adds the benefits of ganoderma. I’m interested. I want to live a full, healthy life.

Get the Best of Both

I drink an invigorating cup of brew in the morning to awaken my mind, my senses and my body to the pleasant side of life. As I start to feel a little sluggish about mid-afternoon, I resort to a tasty cup of OG Black. The unique blend really does rejuvenate my energy flow,and it doesn’t interfere with my sleep.

My wife, Miriam, loves coffee, but gets an allergic reaction with just one sip. She discovered that her body has no negative reaftion to Organo™ Gold. She mixes it into her smoothies or just has an energizing cup of OG Black in the afternoon.

A friend of ours, also a coffee lover who cannot drink coffee without severe negative effects, enjoys OG Black with no adverse effects. In fact, she credits Organo™ Gold for relief from her excruciating migraines.

So, I say, “Give it a try.”

Unfortunately, you can’t download a sample of Organo™ Gold. But if you will copy and paste one of the following options into a return email along with your mailing address, I will send you a FREE sample sachet of either OG Black or OG Latte by snail mail. (It will take about 10-15 days to find you.)

Share this:

The Greek philosopher Thales was asked what is the most difficult thing.

“To know yourself,” was his reply.

Perhaps that is why few of us look at ourselves in the mirror and ask, “Who am I?” It’s a difficult question to answer.

We say, “I’m a teacher.” or “I’m a stay-at-home mom.” But that is what we do, not who we are.

Who we are is not so much about what we do

but rather why and how we do it.

Values filter our responses and attitudes. ‘Go-to’ favorites emerge as core values. Through habit, these become deeply embedded standards by which we measure our life. Reactions and impulses that seem natural and involuntary reflect our core values.

Clearly defined core values keep us balanced and on track. Without them, we are like a nuclear reactor whose malfunctioning core cannot control the reactions and the energy (heat) produced by circumstances. The potential result is a Chernobyl disaster.

An extensive list of values is not particularly helpful; in fact, it’s overwhelming. Five carefully selected values can bring clarity and provide a solid base on which to build a meaningful life.

Why 5 instead of 10 or 15?

Diligently creating a habit with just a few qualities is far more effective than trying to manage too many. It’s like walking—one step at a time. Or like building—one brick at a time.

When David faced Goliath, he gathered 5 stones. Someone has said, 1 for Goliath and 4 more to fell each of his brothers! I like that pre-emptive thought.

My 5 core values are the weapons

that conquer every giant

that taunts and intimidates me.

Core values are of greatest effect when inter-woven, inter-active and operating in balance. They bring stability and create the fabric of my being.

The 5 core values I choose to define myself

I am industrious.

I work hard, I work smart, I work with enthusiasm.

When I have a job to do, a task to accomplish, or an assignment to complete, I am fully engaged, totally focused and completely absorbed.

But I am not a workaholic. I choose to be master not slave of my work.

Work, even hard work, is just work, often better done by a robot or a machine.

But…

Human energy, dedication and drive

elevate work to the glorious purpose

for which it was entrusted to humankind

by their Creator.

I am self-reliant.

I accept full responsibility for my life. No one else is to blame for who I am, what I do or how I live. I am the product of my own choices, made of my own free will.

Yet I am not independent. My most successful and productive choices are made…

when I heed the sound advice of my elders and mentors,

when I consider the feedback of friends and peers,

when I stop to help others along the way, particularly the generation that follows me,

when I am interdependent.

I am who I am today,

having climbed on many a broad shoulder

pulled up by many a helping hand.

I am a man of integrity.

Aiming for complete harmony in what I think, say and do, I strive to be honest, transparent and trustworthy—a man of my word.

My moral code is positive and simple with lots of freedom for creative expression:

Love the Lord my God with all my heart, all my soul, all my strength (resources) and all my mind,

Love my neighbor (fellow human beings) as I love myself,

Love justice (standing up and speaking out for what is right) and mercy (compassion) as I walk humbly with my God.

I do not compare myself to anyone else,

for in the end I answer to God for

how well I lived, loved and mattered.

I respectthe thoughts, feelings, wishes, rights and property of others.

If it is true that each of us is created in the image and likeness of our Creator, then there must be a measure of goodness in every human being. The image of our Creator is simply a little more tarnished, the likeness a little more distorted, in some than others.

Jesus looked beyond the faults of even the worst sinners to perceive the creative destiny hidden in each fragmented life. I am learning to do the same.

Respect moves me to accept each in his own right,

and stand up for those too weak or too afraid

to defend themselves.

I cannot in good conscience live only for myself.

My love springs from deep gratitude.

My relationship with God is not distant nor religious. Ours is a vibrant Father-son love that grows daily as we share life together.

There are many, especially my family, who have enriched me. Therefore, I value each person I meet. Every encounter is an opportunity to bless and be blessed, to give and to receive.

Who can know how many angels I’ve entertained in these ‘chance encounters’?

Beyond the many hardships,

there is a certain beauty and joy in living.

George Bernard Shaw said,

“Life isn’t about finding yourself; Life is about creating yourself.”

Core values determine the life you create.

Choose them carefully, you are a masterpiece in progress.

St. Francis of Assisi says it well in his prayer.

“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.Where there is hatred, let me sow love;Where there is injury, pardon;Where there is doubt, faith;Where there is despair, hope;Where there is darkness, light;Where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seekTo be consoled as to console,To be understood as to understand,To be loved as to love;For it is in giving that we receive;It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life.“

Share this:

Everyone wants to be successful. It is part of our DNA. We are created to be successful.

But is success something that is achieved? How do you know when you’ve achieved it? Is success a destination? How do you know when you’ve arrived?

Merriam-Webster reads, “success: the fact of getting or achieving wealth, respect or fame.”

Wealth, power and prestige.

But that definition doesn’t sit well with me. I’ve seen too many wealthy, powerful and famous people whose lives are less than desirable and certainly not inspiring.

Three characteristics are common in the definitions proposed by prominent leaders today.

success is more a process and a mindset than a destination or achievement

success is measured by the value contributed to the well-being of others

-the reward of success is a satisfying feeling of having lived well far beyond wealth, power or fame.

Here is my pick of the 10 definitions of success

that best describe my own.

1. “Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be.”

(George Sheehan)

2. “Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.”

(John Wooden, the winningest coach in college basketball history with 620 victories and 10 national titles at UCLA.)

3. “Success means doing the best we can with what we have. Success is the doing, not the getting; in the trying, not the triumph. Success is a personal standard, reaching for the highest that is in us, becoming all that we can be. Success is overcoming fear. F-E-A-R has two meanings: (1) Forget Everything And Run; or, (2) Face Everything And Rise. The choice is yours.”

(Zig Ziglar)

4. “I define success as living my true purpose and having a positive impact on the lives of people by uplifting them and inspiring them to think and act in ways that they may not have considered before.”

5. “To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded!”

(Ralph Waldo Emerson)

6. “Success, for me, has always been in providing a great quality of life for my family, for those who work for me, and to my community.”

(Jeremy Young CEO of Tanga)

7. “To me, success means creating a business that empowers customers, employees, and community in equal measure. We want to add positive value to people’s lives, from a personal and professional standpoint.”

(Dan Kurzius, co-founder and COO of Mailchimp)

8. “I define success as having a job that you enjoy and enables you financially, a spouse and family that loves and cares for you, children that make you proud by who they are and what they do, having the freedom to worship a loving God, and being able to contribute to the betterment of your fellow man. I am so blessed!”

(E.N Garnett Jr., Certified Crop Advisor, Southern States)

9. “I feel that my life is successful if I can live each day with a positive outlook, have a feeling of contentment with my circumstances, have balance in all the important areas of my life, and have the time and resources to pursue what I am passionate about.”

Share this:

Preparations for St. Patrick’s Day are everywhere afoot. Shamrocks. Leprechauns. Parades. Entire communities, even cities turn green for the day!

Catholics, Anglicans, Eastern Orthodox and Lutherans celebrate the patron saint of Ireland. Patrick is memorialized as the Catholic missionary who transformed the pagan Ireland into a Christian nation. And allegedly drove out all the snakes!

Leprechauns?

St. Patrick had nothing to do with these miniature mythical creatures. In fact, according to folklore, leprechauns didn’t even live in Ireland. They were mischievous imps of an underwater kingdom in the Mid-Atlantic Ocean.

Shamrocks?

It is said that Patrick used the 3-leaf clover to illustrate the Trinity—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is possible, but Patiricus, as Patrick called himself in his writings, used a far more powerful demonstration to convince the Druid worshipping Irish pagans of the One True God.

One document of his time states,

“For the blind and the lame, the deaf and the dumb, the palsied, the lunatic, the leprous, the epileptic, all who labored under any disease, did he in the Name of the Holy Trinity restore unto the power of their limbs and unto entire health; and in these good deeds was he daily practiced. Thirty and three dead men, some of whom had been many years buried, did this great reviver raise from the dead, as above we have more fully recorded.”

Catholic monk?

None of the documents written around the time Patrick came to evangelize Ireland make any mention of the Roman Church. Efforts by delegates (including Augustine) sent by the Pope to establish Catholic jurisdiction over the Celtic Church proved futile.

Significant differences distinguished the Celtic from the Catholic Church. Most prominent was their rejection of Easter. The Celtic Church commemorated Passover.

Patrick and the Celtic Church leaders refused to compromise. Not until 200 years later did the Catholic Church gain a foothold in Ireland.

Monasteries?

The monasteries supposedly established by Patrick were actually training centers. They were Bible schools which eventually became influential universities to train Christian leaders.

With their thorough knowledge of Bible principles, these leaders rebuilt a people and a nation. From poverty and fearful religious bondage to Druid occult practices to prosperity and freedom in Christ, the effect of the dynamic Christian faith of the Celtic church spread from Ireland to Scotland (where Patrick was actually born), Wales and England.

Apostle to Ireland?

In his Declarations he writes,

“My name is Patrick. I am a sinner, a simple country person, and the least of all believers. I am looked down upon by many.”

God chose this humble man to be His “apostle to Ireland”. Patrick embraced the call and for some 30 years he challenged the Druid forces of darkness to establish Christ’s Kingdom of Light in Ireland.